Living to Work Is Not Enough
The biggest lesson that 2020 has taught us
Maybe I should just sack it all off and sell my body on the internet. It can’t be that bloody hard, can it?
The numbers on the bottom right-hand corner of my laptop screen flashed forward to 11:00. I was at a record 56 tabs, frantically flicking between the poorly-written assignments I was grading, The Guardian’s Live Updates on the U.S. election status, and Twitter, where wars were being waged between those on either side of the bipartisan divide. It was an hour until midnight during the dreaded limbo week(ish) between presidential election day on November 3rd, and the 7th when Biden’s name was officially called. I was at the end of my tether.
I’m a graduate student and, like most graduate students, had to spend this past semester working as a Teaching Assistant, alongside my role as a science researcher and student. Without tooting my own horn, I liken myself to Superwoman, juggling all that I do: research I hope will change lives, classes that further my knowledge (so that I can change lives), and the wellbeing of just shy of 100 Anatomy and Physiology undergraduate students that I hope will go on to change lives (and credit me as their sole inspiration).
Then there’s the miscellaneous stuff: the endless cooking and cleaning, dreaded in-and-out…
